Home Sweet Home
by pitch-playbook
Summary: Sort of a follow up to the story You're My Melody; takes place along the same timeline. Chloe reluctantly goes on a buisness trip leaving Beca alone with the kids for a week. Pairings: Beca/Chloe, Benji/Aubrey


**Home Sweet Home**

**Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan-fiction. I claim no ownership over the characters therein. No copyright infringement intended.**

**A/N: **This is sort of a follow up to the fic You're My Melody.It ispart of a collection of one-shots that all take place along the same Beca/Chloe timeline. All the background on Beca and Chloe's relationship and family can be found within that preceding work. Feedback is always appreciated.

"It's a whole week though, are you sure you'll be okay?"

"For a week, with my own children, yeah I think I'll be fine," Beca laughed.

Chloe had just announced that she was asked to go on a week-long business trip. Sure they had six kids, but Kylie is 14 and would be more than happy to help out with her younger siblings while their mother was away. Beca had never taken care of all six kids on her own for more than a full day, but it's not as if she couldn't do it, she just never had to before.

"I can always decline, they can send someone else, it's not like I don't have a good reason," Chloe rambled on, biting her bottom lip the way she always did when she was nervous.

"You don't have a good reason; we will be fine, promise. Aubrey, your parents, heck my parents, all of them are only a phone call away if I need help. I won't need to call them though, because I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my kids for a week," Beca assured the red head. She was almost insulted that Chloe would question her on this, but she knew she only had the family's best interest at heart.

"Okay, okay, sorry for freaking out, it's just…"

"I know," Beca whispered softly, "they're your babies; you don't want to leave them."

Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca's waist and pressed a soft kiss to the other woman's lips. "I know they're in good hands though," she smiled sweetly.

"You sure now," Beca teased, "I've only been taking care of them since Ky was born, I might forget to feed them or something."

"I don't know about forget, but you might feed them burnt food," Chloe stuck out her tongue, they had been married 15 years and still neither of them had mastered the whole cooking thing. They were much better now than they were straight out of college, but it still didn't shock either of them to come home to a failed attempt at making dinner. Beca was amazed the kids didn't complain more, but lucky for them kids tend to enjoy the things that are easiest to make.

"Where are you going anyway?"

"Denver, that's where our headquarters is. Benji is supposed to be coming too actually, so I guess Aubrey's going to be alone with the kids too."

Chloe and Benji worked together at his father's accounting firm, and when he wanted to send his two or probably more accurately favourite employees on the trip, he asked them both. Being asked to go to a conference at headquarters was actually a big deal, but the thought of leaving her children scared Chloe. Not that she felt Beca was unfit to care for the kids, she would just miss them so damn much. She hadn't been away from them for more than one night ever.

The red head took the next few days to pack, and spend as much time as possible with Beca and the kids. It would only be a week but she was sure it was going to feel like a lifetime.

"Do I have to go?" Chloe pouted, one leg in the passenger side of Benji's car.

"Yes, and try to have a good time. Benji do not let her spend the whole week moping about missing us," Beca warned their friend.

"I'll try, but I mean, I kind of already miss mine," Benji laughed sadly.

"You two are saps, you'd think after all this time you'd want to get away. Just think, in Denver no one is going to jump on you and break your spine every morning at the crack of dawn," Beca teased the pair.

"But I love waking up to a little face staring at me," Chloe admitted, Beca just rolled her eyes. Her attempts at making the red head feel better about leaving were failing spectacularly, and truth is, Beca didn't at all mind the painful wake up calls. Her 5 year old son Brody was notorious for this, but waking up to little arms around your neck was much better than the buzz of any alarm clock, at least Beca thought so.

The kids had said their goodbyes earlier in the living room. Beca feared Chloe would never leave if they all came out to the car. Chloe was big on hugs, and she must have given each of them at least six, before finally walking out the door. It had taken Beca surprise when they first met at Barden, almost 20 years prior but she had grown to crave the warm, sweet hugs only Chloe could offer.

Beca took the week off from the shop, all of the oldest kids were in school all day but 3 ½ year old Taylor and 2 year old Erin were still at home and Beca would rather she were with them than strangers. Beca never much liked the idea of daycare. She totally understood the benefits, but she figured she had kids so she could take care of them, not someone else. She had always been grateful that owning her own business allowed her the flexibility to actually be at home with her kids as much as she wanted. Jesse was partly to thank for this, he was always there to pick up the slack, and him having only two kids helped.

Two is still fun, but manageable, six is crazy he always told her. Most people had this reaction. Who has six kids anymore they would say. Beca couldn't really blame them; she thought the same thing when Chloe first told her it was always her dream to have a big family, like six kids. I've never even wanted one and you want six, she recalled saying. Beca couldn't help but laugh every time this memory flitted through her brain; now she couldn't imagine not having six kids. What the hell do people without a house full of kids do for fun she would think.

Sure most people wouldn't consider trying to get six kids ready in the morning fun, nor would they be enticed by the idea of a house full of sick kids, but everything, the good and the bad were what made their family so special. Spending the week, just her and her beloved children was Beca's idea of fun, even it meant managing all six on her own.

"Can we go to the park?" Kendra asked sweetly, once Beca made her way back inside. Kylie watched over the kids while Beca saw their mother off on her trip.

"Sure, let me get the stroller and we'll go," Beca smiled at her 7 year old daughter. All the kids loved the park, but it was Kendra's favourite in particular. She loved the swings; she would sit and swing for hours if the Beca and Chloe never made her leave.

Six wasn't so hard to manage Beca thought on her walk. Kylie was 14 and could hold Kendra's hand, 9 year old Bryce watching over Brody, and Beca could steer the stroller containing their littlest ones, Taylor and Erin.

"Careful," Beca shouted as the kids ran full speed ahead for the playground.

She pushed Erin and Kendra on the swings, and tried her best to keep her eye on the rest of the kids. It was these moments she was most grateful for Kylie, her daughter was the sweetest, and a super helpful older sibling. She never complained about helping out, and she genuinely loved spending time with her siblings. Beca had to laugh when she found her daughter watching episodes of the little ones favourite cartoons well after their bed time. She never had siblings, and her children being so close made her wish she did even more. I guess that was part of the reason Chloe thought so many kids were a good idea, she had 3 siblings and nothing but great things to say about them.

Beca sat down on the bench with Erin once her little girl tired of the swings, it was almost her nap time but thankfully she slept just as well in Beca's arms as she did in her crib. She was the newest addition to the family, and was perhaps the most attached to Beca. Beca felt like most of her children were more attached to Chloe, but Erin was always the first to cuddle up with Beca. If they were watching TV she wanted up in her lap, if they were eating she wanted to be next to Beca and if they went out anywhere, Beca's arms were her safe place.

Beca placed a kiss on her daughter's head as the small child drifted off.

"Babysitting today?" came a voice suddenly. When Beca looked up there was an elderly lady next to her on the bench.

"Nope, they're all my kids," Beca answered, she hated when people said they were babysitting their own children. Its not babysitting if their yours, its your friggin' job to take care of them she always thought.

"All of them," the woman raised an eyebrow, they were the only other people at the park and she obviously couldn't believe the six children were all Beca's.

"All six," she confirmed, "Kylie, Bryce, Kendra, Brody, Taylor and this is Erin," she whispered, indicating the little girl in her arms.

"Oh, well they're beautiful, they just don't really look like you, and you look pretty young to have so many kids," the older woman clarified.

Beca just laughed, she got that a lot, she couldn't help that her 3 older kids were almost taller than her.

"Thank you," she said, adding, "they look like their mother."

She didn't bother to clarify that her youngest two were adopted. They both had darker skin, and very dark hair and eyes, it was obvious enough and quite frankly it didn't matter to Beca. She wasn't here to explain herself to a stranger in the park, this woman was nice enough but she hated that they're my children usually wasn't a good enough answer for people. She'd lost count of the amount of times people questioned whether or not the kids were hers. People were too damn nosy, at least Beca thought so.

"Oh, well, they seem sweet. Have a nice day with your family," the woman said, walking away.

When Erin woke up, Beca signalled for the kids to get ready to leave. It was nearing lunch time, and she had to make sure they all got fed. Make sure the kids get fed, Chloe had said jokingly as the car pulled away. Beca was notorious especially in the college days for going long periods of time without eating herself, just forgetting or not wanting to make anything, pure laziness. With kids though, that was an impossibility, if you left it to long you were sure to get a reminder.

The rest of the week sped by, she remembered to feed them, get them ready for school, pick them up at the end of the day and get them to bed at a decent hour at night. It was the last part that was the toughest, they were fine for the most part but it was night time when they missed Chloe the most. They were used to hugs and kisses from both of their mothers and it broke Beca's heart to see their tears. She'll be home soon, she assured them, each one questioning every night how many more days until mom's return. It would melt Chloe's already gooey heart to know how much her little munchkins missed her. She didn't have a lot of spare time while she was off on her business trip, but she did text Beca frequently to make sure her babies were okay. Beca replied mostly with picture messages, Erin sleeping, Taylor colouring on the floor, Brody curled up on the couch watching his favourite show, Kendra reading, Bryce riding his bike and Kylie working hard on her homework. At least if she couldn't be there she would still know everything was the same as usual on the home front.

_Night, love kiss my babies goodnight xoxo, see you tomorrow_, Chloe sent on her last night away from home.

_Pick you up at the airport at 4, love you too, the kiddies say goodnight. _Beca never understood the appeal of texting until she got together with Chloe. The fact that you could send your love across the room or across the world in a matter of seconds was amazing to Beca. It was those little messages that made her smile, even on her worst days.

Beca made her way over to Aubrey's early the next day. She figured it would be easier to leave all ten kids with Aubrey than try and bring six to the airport to pick up her wife. Ten kids wouldn't phase Aubrey anyway, she had four of her own to start and spent all day in classroom with 25, ten would be a walk in the park. The blonde suggested she pick up Chloe and Benji, and then come back to their place for dinner before going home. A meal cooked by anyone other than herself or Chloe was a welcome change, so Beca gladly accepted. Their kids enjoyed playing together, and the two couples hadn't spent time together in a while. They tried to go out as often as possible, but they often found they didn't want to be away from their kids anyway. Staying in, where they could catch up and be with their kids was the ideal solution.

"Well, they all still seem to be in good health, so I think you win," Aubrey teased, Chloe had filled her in about her pre-trip flip out. Even Aubrey knew Beca would be perfectly fine to take care of the kids all on her own. She still couldn't believe sometimes that the Beca she knew at Barden actually agreed to have all kinds of kids, but she knew Beca was amazing mother. She kissed every scrape, hugged away every bad dream, cheered every accomplishment and even cried every time one of them hit another milestone. They were her babies and Aubrey knew they meant the world to her, and more.

"How was your week?" she asked her friend, genuinely curious. Aubrey kept it together pretty well, but Benji really was her rock.

"Okay, I mean, I'd rather have him here then not but we managed, even if there were some tears at bedtime."

"Yours too then," Beca smiled; there was something about bedtime that saw children at their most vulnerable and willing to share their feelings.

The brunette made sure the kids were all settled, and comfortable before turning to leave. Chloe's flight was about to land, but she needed to make sure Aubrey was okay alone with all the kids before she left. She trusted her, but it still wasn't easy to watch so many at once.

"I've got her," Aubrey assured her, as Beca was about to turn around to pick up her crying little girl.

"Can I come with you?" Kylie asked, running down the steps to meet her before she made it to the van.

"Sure," Beca smiled at her oldest daughter, she knew she had had a particularly rough week. A big dance was coming up at her school, and her first boyfriend had just broken up with her. Beca had unfortunately been far too busy to really sit down and talk with her, and really relationship problems had always been Chloe's area of expertise. Still though the girl did everything she could to help Beca with her siblings. It was the least Beca could do, letting her come to the airport to see her mom first. Chloe would also love to see at least one of her precious children at the terminal when she got off the plane.

The car ride finally gave Beca the opportunity to talk to her teenage daughter. She vented about her week, her stupid ex-boyfriend, and her dumb friends who were going to go to the dance with boys they didn't even like just so they'd have dates. Beca couldn't relate very well at all to boyfriend problems, or even friendship issues for that matter. She kept mostly to herself in school specifically because she never wanted to get wrapped up in this kind of drama. Still though, she listened intently to her daughter's problems, and didn't once make a snarky comment. It really wasn't her style to snark on her children's problems, they meant more to her than that and if her baby was hurting for whatever reason, she wanted to know.

"Hey, I'm always here for you, you know that right. I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together this week, but I love you, and any boy that breaks up with you is a damn fool. You are the sweetest, smartest, kindest and most beautiful girl, always remember that, promise."

"Promise," the young girl agreed, giving her mother a peck on the cheek, "you're the best."

The airport was packed, full of people coming and going, this way and that. Everyone was trying to pick up their loved ones, or rush to make their flight. Beca hated the airport, the only reason she ever went was to pick up Chloe, or Aubrey the one time she was asked. For some reason, airports seemed to bring out the worst in people. She always figured if you're going away on a nice vacation, or you've just arrived back home and get to see your family, what the hell is your problem. The latter was perhaps Beca's favourite thing about the airport, or rather the only thing she liked; getting to see the sweet family reunions. She blamed Chloe for the odd interest in other people's lives, the first time they had gone to the airport together to pick up her parents after a trip, she kept pointing out couples and families who were reuniting. Beca had to admit it was sweet to see, and on every subsequent trip to the hell hole known as the airport, she kept an eye out for these moments.

She sat in the terminal, waiting mostly in silence with her daughter, she had talked her ear off in the car but like Beca, wasn't the biggest fair of the whole airport environment.

"Look over there," Beca pointed in the general direction of the closest gate, and nudged her daughter's shoulder. There stood what Beca assumed were grandparents, hugging a small child and presumably getting to see a new addition to the family for the first time. There were smiles all around, and Beca could almost feel the warmth radiating from the corner. Almost made her wish she had dragged her six kids to the airport, just so Chloe could have that moment. The moment you saw the faces you'd been missing for so long, the moment the first I love you, I missed you rolled off your tongue; the moment you try and hold back the tears and go in for that warm, well received hug. At least she brought her one kid to hug, that would have to suffice until they got back to Aubrey's.

"Why are we staring at people in the airport?" she asked quizzically.

"To see the love," was Beca's simple reply; that was what Chloe told her when she asked that same question.

"Cute, but cheesy, I'm guessing this is something you picked up from mom," the young girl laughed.

"Correct, she definitely brings out my sappy side. I once cried at a father daughter reunion we saw in the airport, she teased me for weeks. Totally worth it though, it was so cute," Beca was always uncharacteristically sappy, and sweet around Chloe, she couldn't help it. She didn't know if this was all the time she spent with Chloe over the years making her soft, or if she always had the side and Chloe just brought it out. She always did say Chloe brought out the best in her, even when she didn't know she had it in herself.

"Speak of the devil," Kylie whispered moments later, they could just see Chloe and Benji making their way into the terminal from the plane. The gate was crowded with people, waiting for their love ones so the two women waited impatiently in their spots.

"My baby!" Chloe shouted, noticing her two girls, now standing, arms waiting. Chloe wrapped her arms around her daughter, and hugged her tight. The pure, unadulterated joy people felt when they saw each other again, that was definitely the best part Beca thought. She offered Benji a smile and a hug as she waited for her wife to release her grip on their daughter. After ten, maybe twenty kisses on the head, Chloe let go and turned to her, smiling sweetly, tears in her eyes.

"I missed you so much," she whispered, arms now draped around Beca's neck. She kissed the brunette on the lips, soft and sweet at first but the kiss deepening as all the pent up emotion spilled out. "I love you," Beca whispered back, as the oxygen returned to her lungs. She wanted so much for the moment to last, but settled for holding the red head's hand as they made their way to baggage claim.

"How was your trip?" Kylie piped up, as they waited for the bags. Her arm was linked with her mother's as she kept an eye out for the distinctive pink luggage; leave it to Chloe to have bright pink luggage.

"It was fine, nothing exciting, I would have much rather been right here with you," Chloe assured them, "waking up with a small child crushing your spine really just isn't the same," the red head laughed.

Benji nodded, "I missed Aubrey so much I almost totally zoned out a few times during the meetings. I think I was asked at least six questions I didn't answer just out of pure obliviousness."

"I guess that's the last time the boss sends the two homesick puppies with all the kids on a week-long business trip," Beca joked, although Chloe figured she was probably right. She and Benji were probably two of the best workers here at home, but they were pretty well useless when sent away. He'd be better off to send spinster Joan, and the guy who just lived with a bunch of birds, Al next time. At least they would pay attention to the topic of discussing rather than glancing down at their phone every ten minutes. Chloe's facial expressions must have been a dead giveaway that she wasn't thinking about client management strategies, the way she smiled from ear to ear every time Beca sent a new picture was ridiculous. She couldn't help it, if she couldn't be there; the next best thing was seeing them.

"Probably," Benji agreed, "I think I'll tell my dad we're really not cut out to be jet setting executives, at least not for a whole week."

The joy in the air was palpable when Chloe and Benji walked into the house. The kids were all in the front room watching a movie with Aubrey as she simultaneously watched over dinner. Any deep concentration on the film was immediately broke when they saw who was at the door.

"Mama," Kendra yelled, the first to run into Chloe's open arms. Tears didn't wait, rolling down Chloe's face immediately as her kids surrounded her in a group hug.

"I missed you, all of you, so so so so so so much," Chloe squeaked out, between muffled sobs. She placed a kiss on every child's head and scooped up the two smallest in her arms, before walking into the living room.

Benji had already taken a seat, his 4 year old daughter Tessa in his lap, and 8 year old Brianna resting her head on his arm. The couple's teenagers McKenzie and Alex had given their dad a hug, before taking a seat elsewhere in the room.

The children, who would normally be bored by stories about Chloe's work, hung on her every word as she told them about her trip. Her story though mostly revolved around how much she missed them, and how often she thought about them throughout the course of the week. Meetings weren't that exciting, but Beca figured they must have done something worthwhile in the evening times, or at least scored some decent meals on the company dime. To Chloe though, nothing was better than this, enjoying her time just sitting with her kids. Hugs and kisses abound, and tales of their week without her recounted in full detail. The general consensus seemed to be that the highlight of the week was ordering pizza, and all the times Beca took them to the park. Kids were easy to please, which worked to Beca's advantage. She would fill Chloe in on all the important details of the kids' lives later on, Kylie's break up, Bryce's issues with his math homework etcetera, but for now, she was just enjoying the moment.

It may not be at the airport Beca thought, but this was definitely a sweet reunion.


End file.
